Sales Force Control: A Synthesis of Three Theories

This article, first, synthesizes three theoretical approaches to salesforce control systems and, second, examines the effect of the control mechanisms on key consequence variables. More specifically, the manuscript develops a comprehensive model of salesforce control by integrating key constructs from three alternative theories: organization theory, agency theory, and transaction cost analysis. The constructs are (1) outcome observability from organization theory, (2) behavior observability from agency theory, (3) transaction-specific assets (TSA) from transaction cost analysis, and (4) task programmability or environmental/task uncertainty, a key construct in all three theories. In, addition, the study examines the effects of controls on certain consequence variables: salesperson-customer relationships and salespersons motivation and organizational commitment.

This study analyzes agency theory and transaction costs economics in contrast with the literature on trust to integrate the key concepts and assumptions of these theories; The authors use field data from one multinational corporation to illustrate that trust embedded economic theories provide a...

This paper attempts to evaluate the concept of opportunism and the role it plays within transaction cost economics (TCE). In particular, the paper questions the ubiquitous character of opportunism and the efficiency of governance structures built on it. It contends that a TCE failure to account...

As outsourcing evolves into a competitive necessity, managers must increasingly contend with the decision about which software development projects to outsource. Although a variety of theories have been invoked to study the initial outsourcing decision, much of this work has relied in isolation...

The paper reviews and discusses the literature on the concept of incentive in management; the visions of ancient Greek philosophers, classical economists, scientific management, agency theory, contracts, property theory and transaction costs theory. The discussion shows that the transaction...

In a recent 1993 paper in Organization Science, Hennart discussed the underlying logic, based on transaction cost and agency theory, for explaining the choice between firms and markets and the reason why most transactions have both firm-like and market-like properties. Relying on Williamson's...

Many firms have adopted outsourcing in recent years as a means of governing their information technology (IT) operations. While outsourcing is associated with significant benefits, it can also be a risky endeavour. This paper proposes a scenario-based conceptualization of the IT outsourcing...

Moral choice, as a precursor to behaviour, has an important influence on the success or failure of business entities. According to Rest, 1983, Morality, Moral Behavior and Moral Development (John Wiley & Sons, New York), moral choice is prompted, amongst other things, by a motivational...

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses an article on transaction cost by Aric Rindfleisch, an article regarding multichannel management by Alberto Sa Vinhas, and an article on the role of sales forces in managing customer relationship processes by Bart Weitz.